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William Plomer
William Charles Franklyn Plomer CBE (1903-1973) was a South African poet, novelist, and literary editor. Life Plomer (pronounced ploomer) was born in Transvaal, South Africa. He was educated mostly in the United Kingdom. Plomer edited several of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels in the 1950s and 60s. He became famous in South Africa with his first novel, Turbott Wolfe, which had inter-racial love and marriage as a theme. He was co-founder of the short-lived literary magazine Voorslag ("Whiplash") with two other South African rebels, Roy Campbell and Laurens van der Post; it promoted a racially equal South Africa. He spent the period from October 1926 to March 1929 in Japan, where he was friendly with Sherard Vines. There, according to biographers, he was in a same-sex relationship with a Japanese man. He was never openly gay during his lifetime; at most he alluded to the subject. He then moved to England, and through his friendship with his publisher Virginia Woolf, entered the London literary circles. He became an important literary editor, for Faber and Faberhttp://www.masterliness.com/a/Faber.Faber.htm, and was a literary adviser to Jonathan Capehttp://www.answers.com/topic/william-plomer. He was active as a librettist, with Gloriana, Curlew River, The Burning Fiery Furnace and The Prodigal Son for Benjamin Britten. Recognition Plomer was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1963. Publications Poetry *''Notes for Poems''. London: Hogarth, 1927. *''The Family Tree''. London: Hogarth, 1929. *''The Fivefold Screen''. 1932.(poetry) *''Visiting the Caves''. London: Cape, 1936. *''Selected Poems''. London: Hogarth, 1940. *''In a Bombed House, 1941: Elegy in memory of Anthony Butts'', 1942 (poetry) *''The Dorking Thigh and Other Satires''. 1945 (poetry) *''A Shot in the Park''. 1955. (poetry) ** published in U.S. as Borderline Ballads *''Collected Poems''. Cape, London: Cape, 1960. *''A Choice of Ballads''. 1960. (poetry) *''Taste and Remember''. 1966. (poetry) Novels *''Turbott Wolfe''. 1925. (novel) *''Sado''. London: Hogarth, 1931. (novel) *''The Case is Altered''. 1932. (novel) *''The Invaders''. 1934. (novel) *''Museum Pieces''. 1952. (novel) Short fiction *''I Speak of Africa''. 1927. (short stories) *''Paper Houses''. London: Hogarth, 1929. London (short stories) *''The Child of Queen Victoria''. 1933. (short stories) *''Four Countries''. London: Cape, 1949. (short stories) Non-fiction *''Cecil Rhodes''. 1933. (biography) *''Ali the Lion''. 1936. (biography) ** reissued in 1970 as The Diamond of Janina, 1970. *''Double Lives: An Autobiography.. London: Cape, 1943. *''At Home: Memoirs. London: Cape, 1958. *''The Autobiography of William Plomer'' (revision of Double Lives). London: Cape, 1975, Edited * Haruko Ichikawa, A Japanese Lady in Europe. London: Cape, 1937. *''Selections from the Diary of the Rev. Francis Kilvert (1870–1879). 1938. Collected editions *''Electric Delights (selected and introduced by Rupert Hart-Davis). London: Cape, 1978. (previously uncollected pieces) See also * List of South African poets References * Peter F. Alexander. William Plomer: A Biography (Oxford Lives, 1991) External links ;About *William Plomer in the Encyclopædia Britannica * [http://themargins.net/bib/B/BJ/00bjintro.html William Plomer and Japan; themargins.net]. * Picture of Plomer from the National Portrait Gallery. Category:South African writers Category:South African poets Category:LGBT people from South Africa Category:British poets Category:Opera librettists Category:1903 births Category:1973 deaths Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:20th-century poets Category:African poets writing in English Category:English-language poets Category:Poets